Practical

When I moved to LA and launched out as a professional artist and musician, I got a lot of pushback about my decision to pursue creative work.
•
People communicated to me that art and music were impractical fields of work with little to no use in in the "real world." That the arts didn’t matter.
•
Being told that art in general was impractical put a significant block on my creative process. But I know for me, when I hear a fantastic piece of music or see a work of art that is breathtaking, I don’t think to myself, “Gee, that artist really wasted their time making that, if only they had chosen a more practical career.” Instead I rejoice for the way the work makes me feel and the sense of wonder it instills.
•
In honor of practicality, I decided to start this painting out with the word thickly painted like a scar across the canvas. If you zoom in on the finished piece you can still see the word standing out in the landscape. A fisherman stands solemnly by the alpine lake as the sun rises over the Sierra Nevada mountains. From a purely utilitarian perspective, he’s not accomplishing a lot - but in reality he is experiencing the beauty of creation. An experience that restores the soul and brings light and hope into life. An experience of incalculable value...you might could even call it being “practical.” (This painting features the word, "Practical" painted in thick letters as part of the under-paint so that it shows through the final image. I painted this in to remind myself that art is deeper and more valuable than just it's monetary value, and that the best things in life are often experiences and things that are impractical from a utilitarian perspective. Things like love, relationships, fun experiences, beauty - all of things have tremendous value and make life meaningful even though they don't have a monetary or "practical" value. As an artist it is my goal to help people see that the non-practical things are often the best things.)